Police Shoot, Kill Pit Bull in Northeast D.C.

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Police fatally shot a pit bull after it and two others apparently attacked a poodle in Northeast D.C. on Friday morning.

It happened in the 2500 block of Benning Road NE, where the poodle's owner, Marcey Balloon, was taking her for a walk. Three pitbulls apparently got loose and began attacking the smaller dog, authorities said.

"I was just walking with my dog in an alley -- she was leashed -- and I turned around, and the three dogs were behind us, out of their yard," Balloon said. "I was screaming and yelling. Their owner came out of the yard and him and another guy tried to stop what was going on."

Police arrived on the scene where they shot and killed one of the pit bulls.

Leah the poodle was taken to Friendship Animal Hospital in Northwest D.C., where she is in "very" critical condition, said Dr. Ashley Gallagher. She will undergo surgery.

"To have something quite this brutal and savage is not the norm and is very upsetting," Gallagher said.

A good Samaritan is paying for part of the surgery, and the hospital will cover the rest, Gallagher said.